Tra Vinh (VNS/VNA) - The Mekong Delta province ofTra Vinh plans to switch to high-value crops on more low-yield rice fields anduse advanced farming techniques to improve farmers’ incomes in the next fiveyears.

Of 8,108ha on its radar, the Department of Agriculture andRural Development said 4,258ha would see a complete switch to short-term crops,2,487ha would be used for perennial trees and the remaining 1,363ha would haverice and aquatic species.

Pham Minh Truyen, director of the department, said to ensurean efficient switch the department in cooperation with localities would step upadvocacy for the programme and related incentives.

It encourages farmers to join cooperative groups andcooperatives to improve their efficiency and link up with companies to secureoutlets, he said.

The province would focus on research and creating newvarieties of crops with high yields and quality that can adapt to climatechange and are resistant to diseases, he said.

It would implement the preferential policies of both centraland local governments related to switching from rice to other crops andinvestment in agriculture, he said.

Since 2015 more than 18,300ha have been converted, he said.

Other crops offer 1.3-7.6 times the income rice does, accordingto the department.     

Farmers in the province now earn an average of 130 million VND(5,600 USD) per hectare per year, 6.3 million VND higher than in 2015 whileaquaculture yields 360 million VND (15,600 USD), an increase of 110 million VND.   

The province has also encouraged farmers with a total of9,000ha growing a mix of various other crops to switch to high-value fruits,coconut, vegetables, and timber.

On such lands, farmers should identify which of their cropsis suitable for growing, especially drought-resistant, and stick to those, thedepartment said.

Most of these lands are in Cau Ngang, Tra Cu, Duyen Hai, andChau Thanh districts, have sandy soil, are one to four metres above sea level,and grow various kinds of plants including bamboo and timber, it said.

Truyen said most of these lands yield low incomes, and sotheir owners are encouraged to switch to mango, longan, milk apple, jackfruit,peanut, water melon, vegetables, and other crops.

To encourage the switch, the province provides subsidies tofarmers, cooperatives, cooperative groups, and companies for buying seeds,fertilisers, and pesticides.

They receive 6-12 million VND (260-520 USD) per hectare inthe first year and 3-5 million VND (130-216 USD) in the second for up to 50haof lands.

Authorities have taken measures to popularise advancedtechniques to improve the yield and quality of agricultural products and thusfarmers’ incomes.

The province’s Farmers Association has helped nearly 4,000farmers adopt advanced techniques in recent years.

They include using hydroponics, net houses and polygreenhouse farming, cultivating crops to Vietnamese and global goodagricultural practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) standards and breeding aquaticspecies using intensive farming and super-intensive farmingmethods.      

A model of growing honeydew melon in poly greenhouses in ChauThanh district, for instance, brings farmers an income of 1.2-1.8 billion VND (51,860-77,800USD) per hectare per year.

Nguyen Tuong Linh, deputy head of the Chau Thanh Bureau ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said the model, with drip irrigation, helpssave water, prevent pests, and reduce the use of pesticides.

“It is a sustainable agricultural production model and suitablefor use amid climate change.”

The province has nearly 17,000ha of lands using advancedfarming techniques, or 4.5 percent of its total farmlands, according to thedepartment.

It has created brand names for 26 agricultural products anddeveloped agricultural cooperatives and value chains to improve farmers’incomes.

The province’s rural per capita income area has risen 1.2times since 2015 to 32 million VND (1,380 USD)./.